Polish bishops oppose abortion bills, name historian to lead abuse commission

Polandʼs Catholic bishops on Oct. 24 spoke out against two bills that would ease the countryʼs abortion law and named a historian to lead their long-planned commission on the sexual abuse of minors in the Church.

The decisions came at the close of the bishops' 406th plenary assembly in Zakopanel.

In their final communiqué , the bishops said the bills passed by the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, weaken the legal protection of unborn children. Even if the bills fail later, “the mere fact of processing them fosters the shaping of social acceptance of abortion as a morally neutral solution,” they wrote. The bishops also urged lasting help for women in difficult circumstances.

The Sejm passed both bills on Oct. 20 . The first, a penal code amendment approved 217-213, would remove the offense of helping or persuading a woman to have an abortion outside the law. It would also shield medical staff from prosecution for abortions performed to protect a womanʼs life or health or in cases of severe fetal impairment.

The second bill, approved 233-203, would restore abortion up to viability when tests show a high likelihood of severe and irreversible fetal impairment or an…